The Roger White Trot deserved a better fate

.

Named in honour of the Montreal-based hall-of-fame horseman who died 40 years ago -- at age 40 -- in the crash of a plane he'd chartered to attend the Harrisburg sales, the Roger White Trot was presented just once, in 2008, before becoming a casualty of the Quebec horseracing industry's mounting financial crisis.

Now it's back, resuscitated by the Quebec Jockey Club with an assist from Standardbred Canada. The $15,000-added race for two-year-old trotting fillies which are Canadian-sired or Canadian-owned, will be one of the highlights of the jockey club's second season at Hippodrome de Quebec. The event is scheduled for September 10.

"I am excited to see this collaboration," said QJC President Tony Infilise, who was co-owner of the first (and so far only) winner of the Roger White Trot, Tuscan Gal. "I am hopeful it will motivate many from outside the province to experience the delights of Quebec City and the fair-like racing atmosphere at the Hippodrome."

Infilise said the relaunch of the industry in Quebec, "although modest, is progressing in the right direction," and it's reflected in the reappearance of stakes like the Roger White Trot and the Lucien Bombardier Pace (for two-year-old pacing fillies) along with series for Quebec-breds aged two, three, four and five years old.

(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)

Related Stories

• Lucien Bombardier Stakes, Roger White Stakes To Be Contested In Quebec In 2011